Improvement in steering apparatus for vessels



A. JOHNSON. Steeringjpparatus for Vessels.

No. 222,406. Patented Dec. 9, I879.

iiuveatar /\MU5 JEIHNSEIN In Wtmm.

Iii-ff] ratus embodying my invention. side elevation (enlarged) of one of the adjusta V '1 wheel, mounted, as usual, on stanchions a a,

the wheel.

* I E-nsmts ATENT AMos JOHNSON, 0F BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

IMPROVEMENT-1N STEERING APPARATUS FOR VESSELS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 222, 106, dated December 9, 1879; application filed Qctober 29, 187 9.

To all whom it may concern! Be it known that I, .AMOS J OHNSON, of Baltimore city, State of Maryland, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Steen: in g Apparatus for Vessels; and I hereby de clare the same to be fully, clearly, and exactly; described as follows, reference being had .to the accompanying drawings, in which-' Figure 1 is a plan view of a steering appa- Fig. 2 is a" ble pulleys. i V The object of my invention is to furnish a steerin g apparatus by means of which the helm' may be readily and expeditiously'shifted, and

one which will remain in any position to which it is brought without liability of shifting or twitching the wheel out of the helmsmans grasp as a sea, rising under the vessels counter, strikes the rudder.

Various means have been proposed for securing the helm in any desired position but they have all of them been open to the objection that they had to be cast loose again before the helm could be moved. With the device about'to be described this is not the case. As before stated, the rudder will stay in any position to which it is brought; but, the wheel not being secured, the rudder may be immediately moved as may be desired upon turning This feature of my invention renders it especially applicable on short-handed craft.

\Vlien it-is desired to go about, the helmsman simply puts the helm harddown, and is a free to assist the rest of the crew in swaying round the head-yards as theship comes up in the wind. With the ordinary wheel this can-t not be done, as, unless the wheel is lashed a-lee, the rush of the water would bring the rudder back amidships and the ship would miss stays.

The helmsmans assistancewill frequently enable the watch on deck to perform labor which, without him, would necessitate the a calling of all hands, greatly to the discomfort i of those below. In such cases the helmsman.

simply steadies the ship on her course, and

sciousness that the ship will steer herself unblocks 06 andaipi ndthevdru' posite direction to that on the other drum. (1

til his return, or at least that he will find the not touch the wheel except to bring the ship back to her course as she yaws aways, andthe continual strain and pulling and hauling inci- 1 ldent to the use of the old-fashionedwheel,

which was liable to spin around with every sea that struck the ruddeiyare obyiateda In the accompanying drawings,' A is the bolted to the deck. On its shaft are secured two drums, B B, of different diameter, on

which are coiled the chains 11 b, the same bein g wound on the drum B in the opposite (ii i for the pennant-chains D. These are led in .opposite directions around the sector and rudderhead, and firmly bolted to the latter.

Blocks 0 f e f are bolted to the deck at either side of the wheel close up to the taffrail,

and the wholedevice, with the exceptionot' the wheel, is preferably housed in to prevent the chains and running-gear from rusting, one or more scuttles being made in thehousing, so that access may be had to the steering-gear for repairs should anything part 'orget out of order. The chains 1) b are led, as shown, once or twice around the drum B", thence through V the aftermost blocks on deckandthroughthe pennant: blocks 01, and thence thrgiigbflthe stint-ne With regard to the relative proportions of the parts I'have found in practice that about two to two and a half revolutions of the wheel should suffice to put the helm hard up or downthat is, at about an angle of forty five degrees with the keel. Beyond this it should never go, as it deadens the ships way without exerting any greater effect in directing her course, being on the contrary less effective.

The pennant-chains D are, as stated, led around the rudder-head and clinched thereto, so that in case the sector should be wrenched off control of the helm is maintained, the slack of the chains being taken up by a turn or two round the rudder-head.

The blocks 0 e are made adjustable, so as to take up slack as the chains wear, and are, by preference, constructed as shown in Fig. 2, where E is a plate secured to the deck by means of a bolt, F. 0n the plate E the housing of the sheave e 0 slides, being clamped at any point by means of the screw G, which incidentally serves as the sheave-pin.

As will have been perceived, the purchase on the rudder is immense; but the construction of the parts is such that while the helm is quickly and easily shifted it will stay wherever it is placed-a feature the advantages of which will have been appreciated.

Instances frequently occur in which it is of great importance that the helmsman be able to leave the wheel for an instant, as in case of a man falling overboard while the ship is under rapid way. Before any one forward or amidships can cast loose a rope the ship will have run so far as to prevent its being thrown within the reach of the man in the water. The helnisman, being aft, however,

has the time at his disposal while the ship is running, on the average, half her length to cast loose the slack of a brace or the spankersheet and throw it to the man overboard.

With a ship, however, that carries a strong helm, either weather or lee, it will not do, if she is equipped with an ordinary wheel, for him to let go of it for an instant; or if he does and the ship be close to the wind, he is liable to find her all aback and broached to. With a wheel that will stay where it is put, no danger is to be apprehended, as, even if the ship be as close to the wind as she will draw, it is only necessary to spin the wheel a half-turn to windward to avoid all danger of her broaching to.

My invention is also of importance on such ships of war as are not steered by steam -power, in view of the possible contingency of the kill ing of the helmsman when the ship is in action.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In combination with the drums B B, the chains 1), blocks 0, f, e, f, and d, pennantchains D, and sector a, the pennant-chains being led in opposite directions around the sector and rudder-head, as set forth.

AMOS JOHNSON.

Witnesses:

It. D. WILLIAMS, JOHN (J. GITTINGER. 

